One of the longest-lasting dramas that has been playing out this young season in L.A. has nothing to do with goaltending controversies, scoring woes or on-ice fashion-issues... No, this fight is playing out on hockey message boards like LetsGoKings and HockeysFuture... the fight over camera angles.

When Fox Sports presented the latest in attempts to draw in the casual fan, the rinkside cam, old-school fans were miffed, nay... outraged by the decision. Basically, the viewer is allegedly treated to a front-row view of what a hockey game looks and sounds like. However, after forty years of the same, stagnant camera positions, the decision has left such a bad taste in people's mouths, that fans are calling to boycott Fox Sports until they decide to pull the camera angles off the telecast. Boycott the one channel where fans can only see Kings hockey? OKaaaaaaaay, I guess...

On Monday, Fox Sports responded to this heated debate to the DucksBlog from the OC Register. Basically, they have given fans the brush-off and said that viewership is up, the angles are staying and if fans don't like it, tough crap. Tom Feuer from Fox Sports stated that viewership has "gone up 200 percent for Kings games and 20 percent for Ducks games."

Now, call me kooky, but does this seem weird to anyone else? Are we actually attributing a bump in viewership to different angles, or is it thanks to the price hike in tickets this season for a last-place team? And why do Kings fans have their panties in a wad over the team trying something new with coverage, but are accepting of the miscues by the franchise the past forty years. Why not revolt over the decision to raise prices from everything to tickets and parking to beer and garlic fries? (Mmmmmmmmm, garlic fries.)

I'm sorry, but the fans are coming off a little impetuous. I think there's plenty of other things to be upset about than how the product looks like on TV. Like the really uninspired new Kings logo that fans will be subjected to this season on the third jerseys. Logic dictates that with higher viewership leads to higher ad revenues. Which in turn will hopefully lead to increased coverage, hopefully with all HD broadcasts. So, these special broadcasts are doing what the restructuring of the franchise is doing: providing fans with a better product on TV as well as on the ice.

I think hockey fans really don't understand where hockey really stands in the L.A. media mainstream. Speaking from someone on the inside, I can tell you that it's tolerated, just above soccer and NASCAR. It may be hard to hear, but that's the double truth, Ruth.

My opinion: relax. There's only a handful of games with the format. Don't like it? Try to find the games online to watch from the other team's broadcast. (Believe me, they are out there. You just have to poke around.) It truly is a work in progress, much like the kids on the ice.